Ngl this is one of the best attempts ever I heard of an American speaking German for the first time. Especially the Ü is a letter most Americans struggle with, but you got it down pretty well. I'm impressed
Hi, here is just a little tipp for you: in germany we don't pronounciate "sp-" as "sp-", it's more like "shp-". The same applies to "st-". Ps: it's always fun to watch your videos.
Chemie and China have a rather varied pronounciation even across germany. You have people in germany pronouncing it "Chemie" with an initial [ç], "Schemie" with an [ʃ] or "Kemie" mit [k] - similarily with "China", "Schina" and "Kina". Usually, if you say "Schemie", you'd say "Schina".
Germans pronouncing the "ch" as a "k" are a ludicrious minority no one is taking serious for not being able to speak/pronounce correct German at all...! 🙄😝
@@bowser1166 I think that's more in Bavaria the case bc I never heard someone say Schina here bafore atleast their not from bavaria. Here it's more Kina or China with the -Ch sound.
At 4:38, 7:32 and 9:35 , these are journeymen. You can recognize them by their old - time ruffled clothes . Light gray represents those who work with stone, carpenters (and all others who work with wood) wear black or dark grey, metal workers wear blue.. and so on... The tie they wear is called " Ehrbarkeit " (respectability) and it represses the association they are in...you can tell which it is by the color... If they are not wearing a tie or something similar, they are free journeymen without belonging to an association. It is a 1000 year old tradition that young craftsmen go out into the world to gain experience and expand their skills and knowledge. Their journey lasts 3 years and a day, a little more, but never less, and they must not come closer to their hometown during this time than from a distance of 50 km. In the English Isles this tradition was lost over time, only the name journeymen reminds of it. This tradition is still alive in German-speaking countries. If you ever see a journeyman with such clothes (they travel all over the world, so also in the US) take them part of the way with you or buy them a meal or a beer...they have interesting stories to tell.
Also to note: when one of them said "Ich hab nicht viele Sachen", that's quite literal. Most of the Associations only allow you to stay in one place for max 3 months and to not take anything more with you than you can carry along on the road in the traditional piece of cloth, not even a backpack or anything like that.
@@richardmangelmann4975 Go to enlargement and google guild sign. There is a small guild mark on the tie. The guy with the dreadlocks could be a bricklayer. The guy with the big hat could be a carpenter and the one in black too. It's very difficult to see, it's such a tiny detail. But the latter two wear the typical black waistcoats together with the white shirts. Chimney sweeps, on the other hand, wear all black, except for a white sweat towel around their neck (the only thing that is white). The jacket usually has two rows of buttons and a small stand-up collar. The belt with the craft guild sign is usually worn over the jacket around the waist. A black top hat or a cap without a brim is common as headgear.
The ch-sound existed in the English language until the beginning of the 17th century. All English words that are spelled with "-gh-" were formerly pronounced like the German ch-sound.
@@auldfouter8661 came here to comment that. And that's not the only commonality between Scots and german. I also have the feeling like scots take their vowels more seriously (and thus more similar to german) than the english do.
You almost got it man :D Let me help you with the soft CH (like in 'ich') .... in English you exercise the same sound in the very beginning of the words: human, humidity etc ... that's exactly it! 😎👍
The men with the old-fashioned clothes were carpenters on the road. An old tradition with many rules of a particular craft guild. Congratulations to the new parents. Good luck to your baby on all life paths.
the "ch" sound is basically just a voiced "H" sound....and it appears in English as well at least in a very short way...The English and Aussies do pronouce it for a split second when they pronounce a "H" before "U" like in the term "huge" or the name "Hugh". And in order to emphasize the "h" the "ch" sound appears for a split second naturally at the very beginning.. just you Americans don´t do it (maybe some US accents still do it) because you usually don´t emphasize the "h" before "u" as like as the English or Aussies do. Just emphasize/voice the "H" and you will get a short "ch" sound naturally at the very beginning of pronouncing "H" in "huge" or "Hugh"..extent that short sound and you will get the German "ch" sound. And that sound isn´t produced back in the throat it´s produced in the front of your mouth, so "No" it doesn´t hurt in the back of the throat. By the way the "sh" sound for "ch" which was also shown like in the word "Chemie/Chemistry" is an regional accent and not "Standard German"
@@Skyl3t0n China is the worst, it is pronounced all three ways. Schina, Chhina, Kina. Same with Chemie, but I think it's not quite as bad with that word. Some of it may be down to regional dialect, but it's not just that. It's like just randomly sprinkled.
While your comment has some valid points (e.g. similarity of one of the "ch" variants to "h" in "huge"), the first sentence is misleading. The voiced "h" sound is something completely different and does not even exist in standard German. All "ch" variants in German are unvoiced. Examples of a voiced "h" is "hlava" in Czech or "haat" in Dutch. I'm not aware of any use of а voiced "h" in American English.
@@losarpettystrakos7687 yup, you can do both a long ich- or ach-ch without ever using your vocal cords. it's not voiced. else as you said the comment is correct.
@@losarpettystrakos7687 I - didn´t - speak of a voiced "H" in German and I - didn´t - speak of a voiced German "ch" sound as well- I - solely - spoke about the voiced "H" in "huge" and "Hugh" which is English. And I also memtioned quite clearly that Americans - do not voice it - when they say "huge" and "Hugh" but the English and the Aussies do. So the only one who is misled is obviously just you and the reason therefore is that you obviously didn´t read my comment carefully enough I guess, because all your blames on me I didn´t do in my comment.
the importent thing to understand is, that you dont have to remember what to do when. as long as you prounounce the vocal correct (i e u o ...) you automaticly make the right sound when saying CH since the mouth is in the form from the vocal that makes the ch sound different depending on what your mouth is already in. the problem alot americans have when trying to speak german words is that they make a break after the vocal and try to change the form of the mouth and force it out wrong, just say the "ch" in whatever position your mouth is and if the vocal was right, the ch will be right automaticly
the soft "ch"-sound after "i", "e" or "ü" is in fact the same sound as the initial sound of "huge" or "humiliate" etc. Once you know this it should`nt be a problem for an English-speaker to pronounce that sound.
The thought is nice, but if you do that, you're defintiely over-pronouncing the h in "huge" and "humiliate". They're similar for sure, but not the same.
For the first time trying you did a pretty good job! For improvements I would advise you to try to make it sound softer. It's the running gag about German sounding harsh, but in those comparisons they are exaggerating. Of course, pronunciation differs across the country, but in general the spelling is way softer. Especially the "ch" how it is pronounced in "Dach". You are feeling it in your throat, because your sound is too harsh and far more from the throat. It's kind of a short breath with a little rolling inside. A bit like saying "roll" in English, but breathing out during the "r". For the "ch" like in "ich": Sometimes you hit it really good. The main difference to "sh" or the German "sch" is, that you keep your tongue low. You can practice by touching the backside of your lower teeth with the tip of your tongue. But actually you keep your tongue an inch of the teeth.
I think this has to do with "ch" in English being a hard sound like in chemistry, china, cheese or alchemy, anchor, anachronism or Michael. It is either a "sh" or "k" sound.
5:46 those guys are probably wandering craftsmen or graftsmen "auf der Walz" . It is tradition in Germany that some young craftsmen (mostly carpenters) vow to go on journey for 3 years and one day to learn in other parts of the country or even other countries. They stay at craftsmen workshops for some weeks or months, get housing and food there and after some time they go to a different place. You sometimes see them on the road asking for a lift. They have only a stick an a package on it with all their belongings and they wear that special clothing.
0:20 "Schnitzelbach" ... 😂😂😂 Dude, I was roflmao, you made my day!! 🤣🤣🤣 Although this word makes no sense (except it's a personal name of someone) you even pronounced it perfectly! RUclips suggested this channel to me and I immediately had to subscribe, I'm currently watching every of your videos! Great content, love it!! Greetings from Bavaria! 🤘
The three guys with red tie and black heats are apprentice carpenters on "Walz", not the dance, this means wandering / take to the road / hitchhike to different "Meistern" (Masters) of their trade around the country to learn different technics from. It is a tradition since the mediveal times.
Your brain ain't bad in learning languages. It's just a matter of practice. You're not a computer, USB-Stick in, copy data to PC etc. You copy data by hearing and seeing/reading and then you deep-burn the data into your long-term memory by practicing/speaking. When I was 15 years old I went to GB to a summer vacation English course. I knew some English through the school at home but never had any actual practice. Now I was hosted in a British family who knew not a word of German and for the first time I was forced to scrap my vocabulary from somewhere in the brain and form actual sentences that were to make sense. I was so thankful for the host family being overly patient with me because every sentence really did cost me to form. But that was terrific because it broke me in so to speak. I started to get a hang of it after only 3-4 weeks. I was far from being fluent but I was so proud because I actually got better and better. But I had to have some basic vocabulary to even start the process of forming sentences and those I already learned at school before. There's always effort in learning languages. But it is fun when you find yourself getting better every time. So I really appreciate your bravery to practice in front of everyone here on RUclips your German pronunciation which actually is pretty good! You have a good ear to hear these before unknown sounds to you and then actually repeat them quite well! That's so great! Just don't stress yourself too much. It's literally a step by step process. It's like 10,000 pieces puzzle but once you started you won't stop until you've done it no matter how great the challenge might seem in the beginning. And in the beginning of anything everything looks like a mountain, doesn't it. But we will climb it until we reach the peak and enjoy the breathtaking view.
5:20 fun fact, in southern Germany we don’t do the „CH“ sound for words like Chemie or China, we instead use the „K“ sound. So China sounds like „Kina“ and Chemie sounds like „Kemie“.
Congratulations to the new born baby and on successfully conquering the german "ch"! You're the first american who'll get my first name right: Michaela (female version of Michael). The next 3 weeks I'll have a lot of fun travelling in the US when people try to pronaunce my first and my surname😂😂. Pronauncing words are different to the region you live in. The word "China" f. e. in this video is spoken like a "sch" = "schina", in our region we speak it like a "k" = "kina". It's a lot of fun to watch your videos.
Your german ch sounds really good. Your attemps remind me when I had to learn how to pronounce the english th. It is really hard for germans to pronounce it the right way.
It's hard for most non-English speakers. I have heard Europeans pronounce "that" as "dat" and "vat" and "zat". There are sounds or often sequences of sounds in other languages that seem unnatural to English speakers.
I‘m speaking German, English and started to learn Spanish. Believe me, every day 20 to 30 minutes with an App like Babbel and after 2-3 Months you can order food in a restaurant, say who you are and where are you from, count to 100, ask for the way and a lot more. The only big problem in German is the Gender. You have three Articles instead of „the“ and you have zero reference point of why this Article is used for this Word. In Spanish 95% of the Articles follow a simple rule.
There is a rule in Spanish for gender? 😱🙈🤣 I learned that whenever you learn a new language, you have to learn a new noun together with its gender/article, because there are no stringent rules which do make real sense...
@@marcomobson Hä? Wörter die im Spanischen auf „a“ enden sind in den meisten Fällen weiblich. Natürlich gibt es Ausnahmen wie la Televisión, aber die Ausnahme bestätigt die Regel. Trotz dieser Ausnahmen ist es immer noch 100x einfacher als im Deutschen.
@@firefly3196 Spanisch ist, was das angeht natürlich super lernerfreundlich. Aber auch im Deutschen gibt es da schon einige feste Regeln, wie bspw. dass alle Wörter weiblich sind, die auf -heit oder -keit enden. Ähnlich wie -ción im Spanischen. Ich schreibr das nur deswegen hier rein, weil mir das genau an diesem Beispiel aufgefallen ist, wie viele Regelmäßigkeiten bezügliche des grammatikalischen Geschlechts es im Deutschen dann doch gibt :D Und ich muss sagen, dass man durch das Lernen einer Fremdsprache seine eigene Sprache nochmal ganz anders wahrnimmt :)
@@TS29er Als Muttersprachler der mit diesen Artikeln aufgewachsen ist, hab ich natürlich nie so eine Lernhilfe benötigt. Mir ist das mit -heit und -keit tatsächlich nie aufgefallen. Für mich war das halt einfach so und fand z.B. „der Junge und das Mädchen“ immer eines der skurrilsten Beispiele für deutsche Artikel und dachte es gibt keinerlei Anhaltspunkte. Schön eines besseren belehrt zu werden :D
@@firefly3196 Das hat mich auch lange Zeit beschäftigt, aber als festgestellt habe, dass es sich dabei um einen Diminutiv handelt, war es irgendwie doch ganz logisch, denn Wörter auf -chen sind auch immer Neutrum. Es gibt schon einige Wörter, die man einfach auswendig lernen muss, aber einen großen Teil kann man sich schon mit den Endungen merken :)
English also has sounds that aren't in german. The sound is one of those. It even used to have it's own letter Þ And there are obviously local differences. Good example is how some pronounce china like "sheena"
this was a SUUUPER good episode and i like how you really dove into it and tried out to pronounce everything, which you did quite well. there are some main quirks that happen when foreigners try to pronounce a "ch". the main rule to remember tho is when in german there is an "sch" it is always pronounced like the english "sh". and when there is a "ch" , regardless of the mentioned exceptions from the video, it is NEVER pronounced as the english "sh". it is only the snake sound (either soft in the front, or hard in the back). no s is audible or put in front of it. you can help with realizing the difference by pronouncing a "sch" (or english "sh") and noticing that you have to clench your teeth for it at least a bit. while the german "ch" is never with clenched teeth.
This is not good advice for articulation at all. You can articulate "sch" without clenched teeth fairly well and unambigously, while you can say the German "ich" without problems, when clenching your teeth. And an "s" being audible or not makes little to no sense, since there is no audible "s" in either "sch" or "ch". It's just a writing convention. "Sch" is articulated between "s" and "ch", though, when it comes to tongue placement and usually similarly to "s" with the tip of the tongue instead of the middle part of the tongue for the two "ch"-sounds. Better advice would be the following: "ch" in contrast to "s" and "sch" is articulated further back on your tongue and with your tongue being further back in the mouth, but in the same way "s" or "sch" are articulated (namely by continously pushing air between tongue and roof of the mouth, which gives it the same sound properties of wind hissing through small cracks).
Yeah, like a snake. And the snake is trying to inform you of a gas leak but doesn't know how, so it has to resort to mimicking it. And sometimes the snake is from Switzerland. Pretty easy.
I learned that you sometimes even don’t hear sounds of a foreign language as you are not used to that sound. I have Blackfoot friends and even after repeating some of the very complicated words I rarely hit the correct pronunciation. And Blackfoot also has the ch sounds but other for me complicated sounds I might not even recognize.
She should have mentioned, that there is - especially with the CH - enormous differences in German (and Swiss) dialects. Here in Switzerland, CH is always created as far back in the throat as you can (2nd variant) and even many Ks are pronounced like that. This is why "Küchenkästchen" (kitchen cupboard) sounds so funny in Swiss-German dialects (Chuchichäschtli).
The video was filmed on the "Domplatte". That is the area between the Cologne cathedral and the train station. You can spot the cathedral in the background of the elder man.
Starts watching video 'bout an American learning to make the "ch" sound of the germans. Delivers it perfectly in the first couple o' seconds. Thumbs up, don't have to mess with the rest of the video. 😁
Hi Ryan, congratulations to you and your wife. I wish you all the best. Your pronunciation was good. I really enjoy your videos. Greetings from Freiburg im Breisgau Germany Violet
An S in front of a P or a T is pronounced as SH. So for instance sport is pronounced like shport and stark like shtark. If you do this wrong it sounds immediatly very foreign to germans and its a pretty easy fix.
I once heard someone explain how to pronounce the first Ch , she said: Just whisper the word „yes“ and that sound you make when you pronounce the y is exactly it. You have to over exaggerate a little to realize it of course because it’s such a tiny noise 😅
That is actually very helpful! Of course it might take a few minutes to differentiate the exact sound and figure out how to put it at the end of a word like “ich” but once you’ve done that it actually sounds very good!
For the first ch sound you basically have to curl your tounge up and then down again. And the sound is formed at the front of your palate. The sound most Americans tend to make is formed at the back of your mouth. Just shift the tounge more towards the front and it should improve.
The guys in the slim red ties are traditional german journeymen. They travel for 3 years after completing their apprenticeship in order to gain experience.
I honestly don't think so. Those words have a rather silent h which is barely pronounced at all. You pronounce "human" much like "you man". If you pronounce it "chuman" then you're probably overdoing it
As an Austrian I have to say that you pronounce the CH in Chirurg, Chemie and China differently depending where you are. In southern of Germany and Austria you would pronounce the CH like a K.
1:44 - Gesundheit! 😄😅 5:48 - Das wäre ein Thema für ein weiteres Video von dir, den das sind wandernde Handwerksgesellen. Sowas gibt es nur im deutschsprachigen Raum. - That might be a topic for another video from you, because they are traveling journeymen. Something like that only exists in German-speaking countries. Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur Geburt deines Sohnes! 🤗👍
I never really thought of the different ways how to pronounce the CH since I'm fluently in German but the first time I struggled was when I heard how the English word "Choir" is pronounced and I allways had the German version of that word in my head when I read it in a text since they are written similiarly xD (The German one is "Chor" pronounced as "Kor")
yeah same here.. and actually i think i'm not using it that way. My i-ch and do-ch sound the same for example. But i feel like especially this ch sound differs a lot depending on region.
Hello Ryan, many of your tries to pronounce german words are quite good ! Just by chance, I have watched some of your videos. They are very entertaining and although you cover some serious topics, you always manage to maintain a positive atmosphere and add a little bit of humor every now and then. Its great to see your thoughts on Germany and get some new insights about my own country. 🙂 Kind Regards, Oliver
German is often described as rough, ugly, or even aggressive. I love the way it sounds when you're speaking - sounds pretty soft. By the way... congratulations on your baby and happy new parenting! 👶🍼🐥
I think German actually sounds quite aggressive and harsh, especially when we shout, get louder or curse (mainly due to the ch or the r’s) The different ways people said ich, Chemie and Kirche is mainly based in different dialects. Most of the time, the first ch shown in the video is the correct pronunciation. Also, sp- and st- are pronounced as shp- or sht-
just a tip for the ch that seem to come out of the throat - it's more the sound you make when you try to warm your hand with warm breath, just the air is making the sound. the soft ch is build with the tounge leaving a small space at the palate where the air goes through ...try it - it's easy. (or it's simply a revenge for the th in english 😉)
There are two pronunciations of CH in German, depending on which vowels the CH follows: -ach, -och, -uch and -auch are different from -ech, -ich, -uch, -euch, -äch, -öch, -üch etc.
Da kam der Koch und nahm Sie doch, obwohl sie so nach Zwiebeln roch! 😂 Then the cook came and yet took her, even though she smelled so much like onions! Greetings from northern germany ♥️
Thanks for yet another cool video. I like them and you! You seem genuinly interested, open minded and nice. You’re quite a cutie too with your lovely smile!😉
This is so much fun to watch and I so wanted to help you make the sounds right, I couldn't stop talking to you whenever you were very close or very far off... though of course you couldn't hear me 😄
A vocal coach once told us a story. I don't remember the exact details but basically it was about a woman who - back in the day - was working as some sort of phone operator, and she was operator number eight ("acht" in German). So a hundred times a day or so she would answer the phone saying something like "Operator no. eight, how may I help you?". Eventually she did indeed develop some sort of chronic issue with her throat - just from constantly saying "acht" all day. She later had her supervisor make her operator no. 7, and her throat got better.
The two different sounds for "ch": "ch1" (after "i", "e" ...) is articulated like "y" in "yeast", but without vibration of the larynx. You can take a deep breath and make the "y"-position with the mouth as if you want to whisper "yeast" and then let your breath out. "ch2" (after "a", "u"...) really imitates an angry cat or snoring.
The guy in the dreadlocks is probably "auf der Walz" - as part of his apprenticeship he's on the road traveling. They wear something historical - each craft guild had a different outfit - they could be carpenters. It's not that common but nice to see them still doing it.
I agree, 4 different pronounciations of "ch" is not the nicest thing to learn for english native speakers. But if you want to find out how problems with pronounciation look like in the reverse direction and want to have some fun with it, check out Sabine Hossenfelders "How to speak English like Einstein".
Your pronounciation of _ch_ in ich, mich, Michael is pretty good. It's obviously harder to do when the words become more complicated. You might also like checking out the videos by Brit in Germany: "Germany, you still surprise me!", for example.
7:22 sprechen is pronounced with what you would say 2 sh, so it’s like shpreshen, the ch sound of that version is pretty much sh but sp is always pronounced that way(shp)
The ch sound (like in the word "Buch") is produced by letting air flow between your tongue and your uvula. The other ch sound (like in the plural for of "Buch": "Bücher" or the word "China") is created by placing the tip of your tongue close behind your upper teeth and letting air flow through said created gap.
In German, as in all languages, there is a high level language and a regional or dialectal language. If you want to learn High German properly, you should deal with the German from the Hanover region. That is High German. Depending on where you are in Germany, the language will quickly sound completely different. You might think that you are in another country. Both in terms of intonation and vocabulary ;-) Dialects rock ;-) Oh and by the way: congratulations for you and the new earthling. I wish you a wonderful time!
for the first -ch sound as in "ich" (= I) try saying (in english) "eee-yass". try to connect the -e and the -yass and then let more breath out while pronouncing the -y. This -ch sound is basically an aspirated -y sound and the -e in front is a slight help for a start. :) You did very well overall! And I really like your videos. Found your channel yesterday and have watched a couple since then. I really like how you view them with so much curiosity and honesty while not being any judgemental. That's really important for me and a lot fellow German, so thank you :)
You did well on this! I'm wondering why it is so much easier for you to spell the hard ch (Buch) than the soft ch (Milch). Der chronisch lachende Michael trinkt mit Charlotte chinesische Milch in der Küche am Nachmittag.
Quite good, I have to say. Here are some hints: For the front ch, yes, it is very much like an s with a different lip shape. However, where the air hisses over the tip of the tongue for the s, for the ch you raise the tongue a tiny bit so the air hisses over a point maybe 1/4 of an inch behind the tip. Also, this is mostly a voiced sound, so you need to also vibrate your voicebox, like you do for z. For the back ch, it hurts when you rasp it. You need to get to the point where the air flows steadily without that tap-tap-tap of a rolling r. You want only the air to vibrate, not parts of your mouth. In general, don't raise your voice up near the end of a word, you're running out of vocal range. The highest point is in the middle, it raises up and then comes back down. You ran into this issue when you tried "sprechen".
People often say that we Germans aren't proud of our country or that we don't show it. Well, it's true in a KIND of way, we just display it differently. Like watching a native American guy trying to nail down the german "ch" and being proud of the progress he makes 😁
Ngl this is one of the best attempts ever I heard of an American speaking German for the first time. Especially the Ü is a letter most Americans struggle with, but you got it down pretty well. I'm impressed
I find ö harder than ü myself. I’m always uncertain about it. And my German is C1 🙈
As a German myself I was astounded how good his attempts were!
yup, greetings from germany
Americans with some knowledge in French can ü
@@anniehasting1133 ö is like dirt, girl, earl
Hi, here is just a little tipp for you: in germany we don't pronounciate "sp-" as "sp-", it's more like "shp-". The same applies to "st-". Ps: it's always fun to watch your videos.
Except for "Raspel" or "hastig" or... 😜
Nah, jokes aside, in the beginning of words it's mostly like "shp/sht"... But not always... But yeah.
And Ist is not pronunced isht but ist ;)
In the most of parts of Germany, yes! But we from northern Germany pronounce sp and st in the same way like in danish and swedish as 'SP' and 'ST'!
@Th Ro I would not call Hessia southern Germany 😁
@@janjohannsen9156 Ein Student in Stulpenstiefeln stolpert über'n spitzen Stein... 😜
Chemie and China have a rather varied pronounciation even across germany. You have people in germany pronouncing it "Chemie" with an initial [ç], "Schemie" with an [ʃ] or "Kemie" mit [k] - similarily with "China", "Schina" and "Kina". Usually, if you say "Schemie", you'd say "Schina".
Germans pronouncing the "ch" as a "k" are a ludicrious minority no one is taking serious for not being able to speak/pronounce correct German at all...! 🙄😝
I think with "Chemie" it is a bit more consistent. I.e. someone might say Kina but still say Schemie.
@@silkwesir1444 I say Kina and Kemie
@@silkwesir1444 No, here it’s all „k“.
@@bowser1166 I think that's more in Bavaria the case bc I never heard someone say Schina here bafore atleast their not from bavaria. Here it's more Kina or China with the -Ch sound.
At 4:38, 7:32 and 9:35 , these are journeymen. You can recognize them by their old - time ruffled clothes . Light gray represents those who work with stone, carpenters (and all others who work with wood) wear black or dark grey, metal workers wear blue.. and so on...
The tie they wear is called " Ehrbarkeit " (respectability) and it represses the association they are in...you can tell which it is by the color...
If they are not wearing a tie or something similar, they are free journeymen without belonging to an association.
It is a 1000 year old tradition that young craftsmen go out into the world to gain experience and expand their skills and knowledge. Their journey lasts 3 years and a day, a little more, but never less, and they must not come closer to their hometown during this time than from a distance of 50 km.
In the English Isles this tradition was lost over time, only the name journeymen reminds of it.
This tradition is still alive in German-speaking countries.
If you ever see a journeyman with such clothes (they travel all over the world, so also in the US) take them part of the way with you or buy them a meal or a beer...they have interesting stories to tell.
Im german and didn’t even know this so thank you😅
my ex had this style and also long hair, sometimes braided, and a beard :) He lokked a bit similar to this quy with dreads.
Also to note: when one of them said "Ich hab nicht viele Sachen", that's quite literal. Most of the Associations only allow you to stay in one place for max 3 months and to not take anything more with you than you can carry along on the road in the traditional piece of cloth, not even a backpack or anything like that.
Oh i dient know it into this detail, but aint the ones dressed in black chimney sweeper journeymen?
@@richardmangelmann4975 Go to enlargement and google guild sign. There is a small guild mark on the tie.
The guy with the dreadlocks could be a bricklayer. The guy with the big hat could be a carpenter and the one in black too.
It's very difficult to see, it's such a tiny detail. But the latter two wear the typical black waistcoats together with the white shirts.
Chimney sweeps, on the other hand, wear all black, except for a white sweat towel around their neck (the only thing that is white). The jacket usually has two rows of buttons and a small stand-up collar. The belt with the craft guild sign is usually worn over the jacket around the waist. A black top hat or a cap without a brim is common as headgear.
The ch-sound existed in the English language until the beginning of the 17th century. All English words that are spelled with "-gh-" were formerly pronounced like the German ch-sound.
True. That's the reason why it's still spelled "light" because it was pronounced in a similar way to modern German "Licht".
In Scots we still say licht for light, dochter for daughter and bocht for bought!
@@auldfouter8661 came here to comment that. And that's not the only commonality between Scots and german. I also have the feeling like scots take their vowels more seriously (and thus more similar to german) than the english do.
@@uliuchu4318 At least we take our r's more seriously than the English. Imagine saying Doctah for Doctor!
You almost got it man :D
Let me help you with the soft CH (like in 'ich') .... in English you exercise the same sound in the very beginning of the words: human, humidity etc ... that's exactly it! 😎👍
The men with the old-fashioned clothes were carpenters on the road. An old tradition with many rules of a particular craft guild.
Congratulations to the new parents. Good luck to your baby on all life paths.
yes waltzing
Sehr gut gelernt und ausgesprochen! Stark! 💪🏻❣️👌🏻🇩🇪
the "ch" sound is basically just a voiced "H" sound....and it appears in English as well at least in a very short way...The English and Aussies do pronouce it for a split second when they pronounce a "H" before "U" like in the term "huge" or the name "Hugh". And in order to emphasize the "h" the "ch" sound appears for a split second naturally at the very beginning.. just you Americans don´t do it (maybe some US accents still do it) because you usually don´t emphasize the "h" before "u" as like as the English or Aussies do.
Just emphasize/voice the "H" and you will get a short "ch" sound naturally at the very beginning of pronouncing "H" in "huge" or "Hugh"..extent that short sound and you will get the German "ch" sound. And that sound isn´t produced back in the throat it´s produced in the front of your mouth, so "No" it doesn´t hurt in the back of the throat.
By the way the "sh" sound for "ch" which was also shown like in the word "Chemie/Chemistry" is an regional accent and not "Standard German"
Yeah I pronounce Chemie and China like "K"emie and Kina
@@Skyl3t0n China is the worst, it is pronounced all three ways. Schina, Chhina, Kina. Same with Chemie, but I think it's not quite as bad with that word.
Some of it may be down to regional dialect, but it's not just that. It's like just randomly sprinkled.
While your comment has some valid points (e.g. similarity of one of the "ch" variants to "h" in "huge"), the first sentence is misleading. The voiced "h" sound is something completely different and does not even exist in standard German. All "ch" variants in German are unvoiced. Examples of a voiced "h" is "hlava" in Czech or "haat" in Dutch. I'm not aware of any use of а voiced "h" in American English.
@@losarpettystrakos7687 yup, you can do both a long ich- or ach-ch without ever using your vocal cords. it's not voiced. else as you said the comment is correct.
@@losarpettystrakos7687 I - didn´t - speak of a voiced "H" in German and I - didn´t - speak of a voiced German "ch" sound as well-
I - solely - spoke about the voiced "H" in "huge" and "Hugh" which is English.
And I also memtioned quite clearly that Americans - do not voice it - when they say "huge" and "Hugh" but the English and the Aussies do.
So the only one who is misled is obviously just you and the reason therefore is that you obviously didn´t read my comment carefully enough I guess, because all your blames on me I didn´t do in my comment.
the importent thing to understand is, that you dont have to remember what to do when. as long as you prounounce the vocal correct (i e u o ...) you automaticly make the right sound when saying CH since the mouth is in the form from the vocal that makes the ch sound different depending on what your mouth is already in.
the problem alot americans have when trying to speak german words is that they make a break after the vocal and try to change the form of the mouth and force it out wrong, just say the "ch" in whatever position your mouth is and if the vocal was right, the ch will be right automaticly
the soft "ch"-sound after "i", "e" or "ü" is in fact the same sound as the initial sound of "huge" or "humiliate" etc. Once you know this it should`nt be a problem for an English-speaker to pronounce that sound.
The thought is nice, but if you do that, you're defintiely over-pronouncing the h in "huge" and "humiliate". They're similar for sure, but not the same.
yess°!!!!! that tip is amazing! Maybe it's a bit stronger than the sound in humid, but it's quite the correct way!!! I hope he sees this :)
Nah, Huge is closer to the j sound than the ch.
@@patrickkeller2193 We mean the H in huge, not the g in the middle.
@@voyance4elle Me as well, I meant the soft J. it is similar to the soft CH, but further back, CH is on the tip of the tongue.
For the first time trying you did a pretty good job! For improvements I would advise you to try to make it sound softer. It's the running gag about German sounding harsh, but in those comparisons they are exaggerating. Of course, pronunciation differs across the country, but in general the spelling is way softer. Especially the "ch" how it is pronounced in "Dach". You are feeling it in your throat, because your sound is too harsh and far more from the throat. It's kind of a short breath with a little rolling inside. A bit like saying "roll" in English, but breathing out during the "r".
For the "ch" like in "ich": Sometimes you hit it really good. The main difference to "sh" or the German "sch" is, that you keep your tongue low. You can practice by touching the backside of your lower teeth with the tip of your tongue. But actually you keep your tongue an inch of the teeth.
I think this has to do with "ch" in English being a hard sound like in chemistry, china, cheese or alchemy, anchor, anachronism or Michael. It is either a "sh" or "k" sound.
The position of the tongue doesn’t really change from ch to sch. It’s the lips that make the difference.
5:46 those guys are probably wandering craftsmen or graftsmen "auf der Walz" . It is tradition in Germany that some young craftsmen (mostly carpenters) vow to go on journey for 3 years and one day to learn in other parts of the country or even other countries. They stay at craftsmen workshops for some weeks or months, get housing and food there and after some time they go to a different place. You sometimes see them on the road asking for a lift. They have only a stick an a package on it with all their belongings and they wear that special clothing.
You mean "craftsmen", Jakob?
@@thkempeYes, thanks. I have changed it. But they are, or?
@@JakobFischer60 Yes, that's what I thought, too. Some other commenters already confirmed it.
0:20 "Schnitzelbach" ... 😂😂😂 Dude, I was roflmao, you made my day!! 🤣🤣🤣
Although this word makes no sense (except it's a personal name of someone) you even pronounced it perfectly!
RUclips suggested this channel to me and I immediately had to subscribe, I'm currently watching every of your videos! Great content, love it!!
Greetings from Bavaria! 🤘
There are lots of town names that end in "..bach". So it sounds like the name of a town.
@@MarsOhr Schon klar, aber es geht mir um "Schnitzel". 😉
@@PiepsiPanic Jetzt stelle ich mir einen Bach vor, in der Schnitzelfische in Jägersoße schwimmen. xD
@@erdmannelchen8829 😂😂😂
The three guys with red tie and black heats are apprentice carpenters on "Walz", not the dance, this means wandering / take to the road / hitchhike to different "Meistern" (Masters) of their trade around the country to learn different technics from. It is a tradition since the mediveal times.
Your brain ain't bad in learning languages. It's just a matter of practice. You're not a computer, USB-Stick in, copy data to PC etc. You copy data by hearing and seeing/reading and then you deep-burn the data into your long-term memory by practicing/speaking.
When I was 15 years old I went to GB to a summer vacation English course. I knew some English through the school at home but never had any actual practice. Now I was hosted in a British family who knew not a word of German and for the first time I was forced to scrap my vocabulary from somewhere in the brain and form actual sentences that were to make sense. I was so thankful for the host family being overly patient with me because every sentence really did cost me to form. But that was terrific because it broke me in so to speak. I started to get a hang of it after only 3-4 weeks. I was far from being fluent but I was so proud because I actually got better and better. But I had to have some basic vocabulary to even start the process of forming sentences and those I already learned at school before.
There's always effort in learning languages. But it is fun when you find yourself getting better every time.
So I really appreciate your bravery to practice in front of everyone here on RUclips your German pronunciation which actually is pretty good! You have a good ear to hear these before unknown sounds to you and then actually repeat them quite well! That's so great!
Just don't stress yourself too much. It's literally a step by step process. It's like 10,000 pieces puzzle but once you started you won't stop until you've done it no matter how great the challenge might seem in the beginning. And in the beginning of anything everything looks like a mountain, doesn't it. But we will climb it until we reach the peak and enjoy the breathtaking view.
5:20 fun fact, in southern Germany we don’t do the „CH“ sound for words like Chemie or China, we instead use the „K“ sound. So China sounds like „Kina“ and Chemie sounds like „Kemie“.
Congratulations to the new born baby and on successfully conquering the german "ch"! You're the first american who'll get my first name right: Michaela (female version of Michael). The next 3 weeks I'll have a lot of fun travelling in the US when people try to pronaunce my first and my surname😂😂. Pronauncing words are different to the region you live in. The word "China" f. e. in this video is spoken like a "sch" = "schina", in our region we speak it like a "k" = "kina". It's a lot of fun to watch your videos.
Your german ch sounds really good. Your attemps remind me when I had to learn how to pronounce the english th. It is really hard for germans to pronounce it the right way.
It's hard for most non-English speakers. I have heard Europeans pronounce "that" as "dat" and "vat" and "zat". There are sounds or often sequences of sounds in other languages that seem unnatural to English speakers.
You are doing great! It's kinda cute watching you having those "enlightenments". Keep on practicing.
I‘m speaking German, English and started to learn Spanish. Believe me, every day 20 to 30 minutes with an App like Babbel and after 2-3 Months you can order food in a restaurant, say who you are and where are you from, count to 100, ask for the way and a lot more.
The only big problem in German is the Gender. You have three Articles instead of „the“ and you have zero reference point of why this Article is used for this Word. In Spanish 95% of the Articles follow a simple rule.
There is a rule in Spanish for gender? 😱🙈🤣
I learned that whenever you learn a new language, you have to learn a new noun together with its gender/article, because there are no stringent rules which do make real sense...
@@marcomobson Hä? Wörter die im Spanischen auf „a“ enden sind in den meisten Fällen weiblich. Natürlich gibt es Ausnahmen wie la Televisión, aber die Ausnahme bestätigt die Regel. Trotz dieser Ausnahmen ist es immer noch 100x einfacher als im Deutschen.
@@firefly3196 Spanisch ist, was das angeht natürlich super lernerfreundlich. Aber auch im Deutschen gibt es da schon einige feste Regeln, wie bspw. dass alle Wörter weiblich sind, die auf -heit oder -keit enden. Ähnlich wie -ción im Spanischen. Ich schreibr das nur deswegen hier rein, weil mir das genau an diesem Beispiel aufgefallen ist, wie viele Regelmäßigkeiten bezügliche des grammatikalischen Geschlechts es im Deutschen dann doch gibt :D Und ich muss sagen, dass man durch das Lernen einer Fremdsprache seine eigene Sprache nochmal ganz anders wahrnimmt :)
@@TS29er Als Muttersprachler der mit diesen Artikeln aufgewachsen ist, hab ich natürlich nie so eine Lernhilfe benötigt. Mir ist das mit -heit und -keit tatsächlich nie aufgefallen. Für mich war das halt einfach so und fand z.B. „der Junge und das Mädchen“ immer eines der skurrilsten Beispiele für deutsche Artikel und dachte es gibt keinerlei Anhaltspunkte. Schön eines besseren belehrt zu werden :D
@@firefly3196 Das hat mich auch lange Zeit beschäftigt, aber als festgestellt habe, dass es sich dabei um einen Diminutiv handelt, war es irgendwie doch ganz logisch, denn Wörter auf -chen sind auch immer Neutrum. Es gibt schon einige Wörter, die man einfach auswendig lernen muss, aber einen großen Teil kann man sich schon mit den Endungen merken :)
Ha ha, Scots and native Spanish speakers have a huge advantage when pronouncing "ch" 😂
It’s interesting to see how languages have developed over the centuries. Even you spell it differently we find similar sound in our native languages
You are a natural, Ryan! This is so difficult for foreigners, I think, but you rocked it!
I am from Bremen in germany and it is so funny to hear you speak german especially wenn you say „sprechen". 🤣
English also has sounds that aren't in german. The sound is one of those. It even used to have it's own letter Þ
And there are obviously local differences. Good example is how some pronounce china like "sheena"
That was a fun video. Good job, Ryan.
I'm very glad you didn't stop the video much but instead just tried yourself on words spelling. Very sweet to see your excitement learning them :D
this was a SUUUPER good episode and i like how you really dove into it and tried out to pronounce everything, which you did quite well.
there are some main quirks that happen when foreigners try to pronounce a "ch".
the main rule to remember tho is when in german there is an "sch" it is always pronounced like the english "sh".
and when there is a "ch" , regardless of the mentioned exceptions from the video, it is NEVER pronounced as the english "sh".
it is only the snake sound (either soft in the front, or hard in the back). no s is audible or put in front of it.
you can help with realizing the difference by pronouncing a "sch" (or english "sh") and noticing that you have to clench your teeth for it at least a bit. while the german "ch" is never with clenched teeth.
This is not good advice for articulation at all. You can articulate "sch" without clenched teeth fairly well and unambigously, while you can say the German "ich" without problems, when clenching your teeth. And an "s" being audible or not makes little to no sense, since there is no audible "s" in either "sch" or "ch". It's just a writing convention. "Sch" is articulated between "s" and "ch", though, when it comes to tongue placement and usually similarly to "s" with the tip of the tongue instead of the middle part of the tongue for the two "ch"-sounds.
Better advice would be the following: "ch" in contrast to "s" and "sch" is articulated further back on your tongue and with your tongue being further back in the mouth, but in the same way "s" or "sch" are articulated (namely by continously pushing air between tongue and roof of the mouth, which gives it the same sound properties of wind hissing through small cracks).
Well done on your CH pronunciation! It's not easy, good job 👍
Yeah, like a snake. And the snake is trying to inform you of a gas leak but doesn't know how, so it has to resort to mimicking it. And sometimes the snake is from Switzerland. Pretty easy.
Congrats for your newborn. Enjoying your videos. Keep it up
I learned that you sometimes even don’t hear sounds of a foreign language as you are not used to that sound. I have Blackfoot friends and even after repeating some of the very complicated words I rarely hit the correct pronunciation. And Blackfoot also has the ch sounds but other for me complicated sounds I might not even recognize.
She should have mentioned, that there is - especially with the CH - enormous differences in German (and Swiss) dialects. Here in Switzerland, CH is always created as far back in the throat as you can (2nd variant) and even many Ks are pronounced like that. This is why "Küchenkästchen" (kitchen cupboard) sounds so funny in Swiss-German dialects (Chuchichäschtli).
The video was filmed on the "Domplatte". That is the area between the Cologne cathedral and the train station. You can spot the cathedral in the background of the elder man.
So sweet. Good job, Ryan 👏
Starts watching video 'bout an American learning to make the "ch" sound of the germans. Delivers it perfectly in the first couple o' seconds. Thumbs up, don't have to mess with the rest of the video. 😁
Hi Ryan, congratulations to you and your wife. I wish you all the best. Your pronunciation was good. I really enjoy your videos. Greetings from Freiburg im Breisgau Germany
Violet
I think you did pretty well!
Greetings from Hamburg - and congratulations!
There's at least 3 different ways to pronounce ch in English as well. Champion, champagne and choir.
An S in front of a P or a T is pronounced as SH. So for instance sport is pronounced like shport and stark like shtark.
If you do this wrong it sounds immediatly very foreign to germans and its a pretty easy fix.
Gut gemacht, Ryan😀👍
"Doch" one of the most important words in the German language.
I once heard someone explain how to pronounce the first Ch , she said: Just whisper the word „yes“ and that sound you make when you pronounce the y is exactly it. You have to over exaggerate a little to realize it of course because it’s such a tiny noise 😅
That is actually very helpful! Of course it might take a few minutes to differentiate the exact sound and figure out how to put it at the end of a word like “ich” but once you’ve done that it actually sounds very good!
And with that, no one can say, "That sound does not occur in English."
For the first ch sound you basically have to curl your tounge up and then down again. And the sound is formed at the front of your palate. The sound most Americans tend to make is formed at the back of your mouth. Just shift the tounge more towards the front and it should improve.
The guys in the slim red ties are traditional german journeymen.
They travel for 3 years after completing their apprenticeship in order to gain experience.
Thanks. I just wanted to explain, not all people in Germany walk around like that 😁
The „ch“ after i, e or ü is similarly pronounced like the h in human, huge or humid.
I honestly don't think so. Those words have a rather silent h which is barely pronounced at all. You pronounce "human" much like "you man". If you pronounce it "chuman" then you're probably overdoing it
Congratulations and the best wishes for your newborn son. Greetings from Austria
Dude you're great! Wonderful ch
As an Austrian I have to say that you pronounce the CH in Chirurg, Chemie and China differently depending where you are. In southern of Germany and Austria you would pronounce the CH like a K.
I think I can say that on behalf of all germans: It is literally the sweetest, when americans try to talk german!!! ☺️😍
1:44 - Gesundheit! 😄😅
5:48 - Das wäre ein Thema für ein weiteres Video von dir, den das sind wandernde Handwerksgesellen. Sowas gibt es nur im deutschsprachigen Raum. - That might be a topic for another video from you, because they are traveling journeymen. Something like that only exists in German-speaking countries.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur Geburt deines Sohnes! 🤗👍
Perhaps the most important lesson for an authentic German pronunciation! Keep it up guys ☺
I never really thought of the different ways how to pronounce the CH since I'm fluently in German but the first time I struggled was when I heard how the English word "Choir" is pronounced and I allways had the German version of that word in my head when I read it in a text since they are written similiarly xD (The German one is "Chor" pronounced as "Kor")
yeah same here.. and actually i think i'm not using it that way. My i-ch and do-ch sound the same for example. But i feel like especially this ch sound differs a lot depending on region.
I love his try and quickly success.
Hello Ryan,
many of your tries to pronounce german words are quite good !
Just by chance, I have watched some of your videos. They are very entertaining and although you cover some serious topics, you always manage to maintain a positive atmosphere and add a little bit of humor every now and then. Its great to see your thoughts on Germany and get some new insights about my own country. 🙂
Kind Regards,
Oliver
"Meine Freundin kann nicht alles"
"Doch!"
That just killed me xD
you are doing great. more videos like this please.
German is often described as rough, ugly, or even aggressive. I love the way it sounds when you're speaking - sounds pretty soft. By the way... congratulations on your baby and happy new parenting! 👶🍼🐥
You did quite amazing :)
I think German actually sounds quite aggressive and harsh, especially when we shout, get louder or curse (mainly due to the ch or the r’s)
The different ways people said ich, Chemie and Kirche is mainly based in different dialects. Most of the time, the first ch shown in the video is the correct pronunciation. Also, sp- and st- are pronounced as shp- or sht-
Wow, i even applauded at some Times in the video😄👌
Love it, more of pronounciation please
just a tip for the ch that seem to come out of the throat - it's more the sound you make when you try to warm your hand with warm breath, just the air is making the sound. the soft ch is build with the tounge leaving a small space at the palate where the air goes through ...try it - it's easy. (or it's simply a revenge for the th in english 😉)
The 3 guys with funny hats are on "Walz" or "Wanderjahre". You may want to have a look into that concept.
There are two pronunciations of CH in German, depending on which vowels the CH follows: -ach, -och, -uch and -auch are different from -ech, -ich, -uch, -euch, -äch, -öch, -üch etc.
You had a very admirable first outing with CH :)
I, 20 y/o German, just learned that there's a rule for "ch" pronunciation. I thought it was random TT
The ch in "ich" sounds like the beginning of "huge" . Your pronounciation of the ü is very good Ryan
You are very talented! In English I struggle with the pronounciation of "sixth sence". X, then th, then s is impossible for my mouth to form.
New Video, new fun
Da kam der Koch
und nahm Sie doch,
obwohl sie so nach Zwiebeln roch! 😂
Then the cook came and yet took her, even though she smelled so much like onions!
Greetings from northern germany ♥️
Thanks for yet another cool video. I like them and you! You seem genuinly interested, open minded and nice. You’re quite a cutie too with your lovely smile!😉
This is so much fun to watch and I so wanted to help you make the sounds right, I couldn't stop talking to you whenever you were very close or very far off... though of course you couldn't hear me 😄
Actually the very first "ch" you did in your intro was pretty much on point ^^
So sweet to listen to you. :D
A vocal coach once told us a story. I don't remember the exact details but basically it was about a woman who - back in the day - was working as some sort of phone operator, and she was operator number eight ("acht" in German). So a hundred times a day or so she would answer the phone saying something like "Operator no. eight, how may I help you?". Eventually she did indeed develop some sort of chronic issue with her throat - just from constantly saying "acht" all day.
She later had her supervisor make her operator no. 7, and her throat got better.
Your doch is perfect. It sounded just like my kids "doch" after I say no.
You are really good with your pronunciation 👍🏻
The two different sounds for "ch":
"ch1" (after "i", "e" ...) is articulated like "y" in "yeast", but without vibration of the larynx. You can take a deep breath and make the "y"-position with the mouth as if you want to whisper "yeast" and then let your breath out.
"ch2" (after "a", "u"...) really imitates an angry cat or snoring.
The guy in the dreadlocks is probably "auf der Walz" - as part of his apprenticeship he's on the road traveling.
They wear something historical - each craft guild had a different outfit - they could be carpenters. It's not that common but nice to see them still doing it.
I agree, 4 different pronounciations of "ch" is not the nicest thing to learn for english native speakers. But if you want to find out how problems with pronounciation look like in the reverse direction and want to have some fun with it, check out Sabine Hossenfelders "How to speak English like Einstein".
Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪
Great job and a new sub ☺️
Your pronounciation of _ch_ in ich, mich, Michael is pretty good. It's obviously harder to do when the words become more complicated.
You might also like checking out the videos by Brit in Germany: "Germany, you still surprise me!", for example.
You did quite well....!
Really great 👍 job
7:22 sprechen is pronounced with what you would say 2 sh, so it’s like shpreshen, the ch sound of that version is pretty much sh but sp is always pronounced that way(shp)
The ch sound (like in the word "Buch") is produced by letting air flow between your tongue and your uvula.
The other ch sound (like in the plural for of "Buch": "Bücher" or the word "China") is created by placing the tip of your tongue close behind your upper teeth and letting air flow through said created gap.
keep doing this Videos. As a german, to see this, is so awsome 👌
In German, as in all languages, there is a high level language and a regional or dialectal language.
If you want to learn High German properly, you should deal with the German from the Hanover region. That is High German.
Depending on where you are in Germany, the language will quickly sound completely different. You might think that you are in another country. Both in terms of intonation and vocabulary ;-) Dialects rock ;-)
Oh and by the way: congratulations for you and the new earthling. I wish you a wonderful time!
in my opinion it's the worst thing you could do as this sounds awful for most of the country.
@@pok81 Sorry, but reading all the nonsense you are writing in this comment section proves you are nothing but a troll!
@@sabinemuller6490 ja genau. Dann bleib doch bei deinem Blödsinn. Is mir zu blöd mich euch zwei.
@@pok81 Kein Blödsinn, nur Sprach-Realität.
The guys with the special outfit are craftsman.
for the first -ch sound as in "ich" (= I) try saying (in english) "eee-yass". try to connect the -e and the -yass and then let more breath out while pronouncing the -y. This -ch sound is basically an aspirated -y sound and the -e in front is a slight help for a start. :)
You did very well overall! And I really like your videos. Found your channel yesterday and have watched a couple since then. I really like how you view them with so much curiosity and honesty while not being any judgemental. That's really important for me and a lot fellow German, so thank you :)
Your doing not too bad for an absolute beginner. Greetz from Germany.
Ich liebe deine Videos. Du bist so süß🥺😍
The First „Ch“ is like the Sound you make between „C“ and „U“ in „Cute“ ;)
You did well on this! I'm wondering why it is so much easier for you to spell the hard ch (Buch) than the soft ch (Milch).
Der chronisch lachende Michael trinkt mit Charlotte chinesische Milch in der Küche am Nachmittag.
The way learned it was to say cute really slowly, and it's hidden between the c and the u, "c-chhhh-yyyoooo-t" and that made it so much easier for me
your "Machen" sound so good xD
In Bavaria or southern parts of Germany we pronounce the Ch like in Chemie harder like a k or you in chemistry.
Quite good, I have to say. Here are some hints:
For the front ch, yes, it is very much like an s with a different lip shape. However, where the air hisses over the tip of the tongue for the s, for the ch you raise the tongue a tiny bit so the air hisses over a point maybe 1/4 of an inch behind the tip. Also, this is mostly a voiced sound, so you need to also vibrate your voicebox, like you do for z.
For the back ch, it hurts when you rasp it. You need to get to the point where the air flows steadily without that tap-tap-tap of a rolling r. You want only the air to vibrate, not parts of your mouth.
In general, don't raise your voice up near the end of a word, you're running out of vocal range. The highest point is in the middle, it raises up and then comes back down. You ran into this issue when you tried "sprechen".
It's like a cross between CH and SH in English. You make the sound with the end of your tongue up against the front of the roof of your mouth.
People often say that we Germans aren't proud of our country or that we don't show it.
Well, it's true in a KIND of way, we just display it differently.
Like watching a native American guy trying to nail down the german "ch" and being proud of the progress he makes 😁